Below you’ll find breaking news as well as reports, updates on our campaigns, and victories.
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Press Release
East and Southern Africa: Journalists Targeted Amid Ongoing Crackdown on Media
Authorities across East and Southern Africa continued to impose severe restrictions on the right to freedom of expression and media freedom.
May 3, 2024
Press Release
Abuse of Protesters and Prisoners Highlights Urgent Need to Regulate Torture Tools
The world must act urgently to prohibit the global trade in equipment designed to inflict excruciating pain and injury, Amnesty International and the Omega Research Foundation said today, ahead of a high-level UN meeting on the ‘torture trade’. In a new report, Ending the Torture Trade: The Path to Global Controls on the ‘Tools of Torture’, the organizations also called for controls on standard policing equipment to ensure it does not end up in the hands of abusers.
December 10, 2020
Press Release
Protect Detainees at Risk of COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa, Unclog Prisons and Release Prisoners of Conscience
Authorities in Sub-Saharan Africa must take urgent action to protect people in detention from COVID-19, including releasing prisoners of conscience, reviewing cases of pre-trial detention, and guaranteeing access to healthcare and sanitation products in all facilities, Amnesty International said today.
April 20, 2020
Press Release
Armed conflicts and state repression in Africa fuel cocktail of human rights violations
HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFRICA: Protesters across sub-Saharan Africa have braved bullets and beatings to defend their rights in the face of continuing conflict and state repression, Amnesty International said today as it published its annual review of human rights in the region. The organization highlighted the bravery and defiance of people who took to the streets to demand change, but warned that they are being let down by governments who continue to perpetrate human rights violations across the region. The report analyzes major developments from the past year including the deposition of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, the Zimbabwean government’s response…
April 7, 2020
Report
Conform or flee: Repression and insecurity pushing Burundians into exile
Thousands of Burundian refugees are under mounting pressure to return to their country where they would be at risk of death, rape and torture, said Amnesty International in a report out today.
September 28, 2017
Press Release
Burundi: UN findings must be a wake-up call on torture
The UN Committee against Torture (CAT) issued a wake-up call to Burundi today, said Amnesty International after the Committee flagged an increase in the use of torture and other ill-treatment since the beginning of the country’s current crisis in April 2015. In its concluding observations following a special report submitted at CAT’s request, the Committee’s 10 independent international experts expressed deep concern over hundreds of cases of torture alleged to have taken place in recent months in both official and unofficial places of detention. “The spike in torture cases we have seen in Burundi since the onset of the crisis…
August 12, 2016
Press Release
One year on, Burundians pay the price of entrenched human rights crisis
One year on from the start of the Burundi crisis, the human rights situation in the country continues to deteriorate and accountability for horrific acts of violence remains elusive, Amnesty International said today. The decision by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open a preliminary examination underlines the gravity of the situation.
April 26, 2016
Press Release
Amnesty International’s Annual State of the World Report Slams Governments, Including the U.S., for Global Assault on Freedoms
On the launch of its 2015 State of the World report, Amnesty International USA urged President Obama to use his last year in office to bring U.S. laws and policies in line with international human rights standards.
February 22, 2016
Press Release
Your rights in jeopardy, global assault on freedoms, warns Amnesty International
International protection of human rights is in danger of unravelling as short-term national self-interest and draconian security crackdowns have led to a wholesale assault on basic freedoms and rights, warned Amnesty International as it launched its annual assessment of human rights around the world. “Your rights are in jeopardy: they are being treated with utter contempt by many governments around the world,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
February 18, 2016
Report
Amnesty International State of the World 2015-2016
International protection of human rights is in danger of unravelling as short-term national self-interest and draconian security crackdowns have led to a wholesale assault on basic freedoms and rights, warned Amnesty International as it launched its annual assessment of human rights around the world. “Your rights are in jeopardy: they are being treated with utter contempt by many governments around the world,” said Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
February 18, 2016
Press Release
Satellite evidence in Burundi supports witness accounts of mass graves
Compelling new satellite images, video footage and witness accounts analyzed by Amnesty International in a new briefing strongly indicate that dozens of people killed by Burundian security forces in December were later buried in mass graves.
January 27, 2016
Report
Burundi: Suspected Mass Graves of Victims of 11 December Violence
Compelling new satellite images, video footage and witness accounts analyzed by Amnesty International strongly indicate that dozens of people killed by Burundian security forces in December were later buried in mass graves.
January 27, 2016